Cake Mix Coffee Cake
Cake mix coffee cake is an irresistible cake to serve with coffee. A quick and oh so easy to make version of this classic cake, it’s sure to become one of your regular recipes!
There’s something so comforting about sharing a warm coffee cake with friends and family. It really is the perfect accompaniment to hot coffee or tea and is never out of place at breakfast or brunch! The best part about his recipe is that it’s a breeze to make with a few simple ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry!
This yellow cake mix coffee cake is light and moist with a delicious cinnamon pecan filling. Even more of the filling is sprinkled over the top of the cake to give an added crunch.
If you haven’t considered using cake mix to make coffee cake, I encourage you to give it a try! I love the shortcut of using it in this recipe, but if you’d prefer to make your own cake from scratch, I also have an amazing recipe for a yellow cake.
Why is it called a coffee cake?
Not to be confused with a coffee-flavored cake, this cake is popular for serving alongside coffee or tea at breakfast or brunch. It typically has a streusel topping and is often flavored with cinnamon and brown sugar.
What You’ll Need to Make this Recipe
My recipe calls for a few common baking ingredients, plus one great shortcut!
- 1 box of yellow cake mix – use your favorite brand here. Using a mix is so quick and easy! I also have a recipe for a DIY yellow cake mix if you want to try making your own!
- Unsalted butter – there’s salt in boxed cake mix, so no need to add any more.
- Light or dark brown sugar – light has less molasses flavor and dark brown contains more molasses, so has a deeper caramel flavor
- Ground cinnamon – gives the cake a warm spiced flavor
- Pecans – you could swap for walnuts if you prefer
- Eggs – I use large eggs
- Sour cream – full-fat sour cream creates a moisture cake
How to turn cake mix into coffee cake
It’s so great when you have a recipe that you can whip up in a matter of moments. The preparation of this cake mix recipe is so quick and easy, which means you can have it in the oven in 10 minutes! The hardest part is waiting to have your first slice!
- Prepare. Preheat your oven to 350 F/180 C and grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
- Make the filling. Put 2/3 cup of cake mix in a medium bowl and add melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Mix everything to combine.
- Make the batter. Combine cake mix, eggs, and sour cream in a large bowl until smooth.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle over half the filling. Pour the remaining batter over the top and smooth into an even layer. It might help to grease an offset spatula to help with spreading the top layer of batter without disturbing the filling too much.
- Sprinkle over the other half of the filling to form the streusel topping.
- Bake the cake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Start checking the cake at 45 minutes. You’ll know the cake is done when you insert a toothpick or thin skewer into the center and it comes out clean.
Serving Ideas
Coffee cake tastes so good when it’s warm! Allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. You can also serve it at room temperature.
If you want to dress your coffee cake up a bit, you can make a quick glaze with powdered sugar and water or milk and drizzle it over the top using a fork or a spoon. Sometimes I’ll dust over some of the powdered sugar for an easy topping.
More Coffee Cake Recipes
There are so many options for flavors when it comes to coffee cake. More cake? Yes please! Here are a few of my other recipes:
- Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
- Blueberry Peach Coffee Cake
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Rich Coffee Cake with Sweet Cheese Filling
FAQ’s
Nope! Despite the name, there is no coffee in this cake. The cake is usually served with coffee, which is really how it got its name.
This recipe really tastes the best when it’s freshly baked. You could bake it the night before and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap overnight. In the morning, pop the cake into the microwave to heat up for 10 – 20 seconds.
I recommend using butter for this recipe. Butter will give you a much richer flavor. Margarine also tends to have a higher water content which can change the texture of your cake.
Storing your cake
As tempting as it might be to eat the entire cake in one go, you might find yourself with leftovers. This cake is best eaten on the day it’s made, but you can store it at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.
I like to eat my coffee cake warm, so to refresh day-old cake, I put individual slices on microwavable plates and warm them in the microwave for 10 – 20 seconds.
Cake Mix Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- ¼ cup (57 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (198 g) light or dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (114 g) finely chopped pecans
- 3 eggs
- 1½ cups (340 g) sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside.
- Make the Filling: Remove ⅔ cup of the cake mix and place in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans, mixing with a spoon or spatula to thoroughly combine.
- In a large bowl, combine the remaining cake mix, eggs, and sour cream until completely combined.
- Pour half of the wet batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle evenly with half of the filling.
- Pour the remaining batter over top and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining filling mixture over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a toothpick or thin skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving to serve warm; it can also be served at room temperature.
Notes
- Yellow Cake Mix: Use your favorite brand here. Using a mix is so quick and easy! I also have a recipe for a DIY yellow cake mix if you want to try making your own!
- Pecans: You could swap for walnuts if you prefer, or omit entirely if you need to avoid nuts.
- Sour Cream: Use full-fat for a wonderfully moist cake. You can also substitute full-fat Greek yogurt.
- Serving: Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes and serve warm or at room temperature.
- Garnish: Serve plain or with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a drizzle of simple icing (mix powdered sugar with water or milk to create a drizzling consistency).
- Storage: Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Dee Frances.
Oh my! This is so simple and so delicious! Will definitely be making again!
This is the easiest recipe, and tastes delicious! I love that I can throw it together in a few minutes before I get ready for work, and have a warm coffee cake to take into the office. Thank you!!
I made this in a pinch for my daughter to take to work for her and her friends.
They all loved it, so delicious and moist!
I added some sour cream and some oats to the crumble ♥️ delish!
A little disappointed my middle didn’t cook properly. My edges are very brown but middle mushy. Any suggestions.
Maybe I’ll try again. A little disappointed.
Can I substitute condensed milk or milk (how much ?) for 1.5 cups sour cream ?
Love this quick easy coffee cake.
Will this working baking in a bundt pan, and putting the crumble on the bottom of the pan and inbetween as well.
Thanks
Mike
It’s so great. I successfully made this cake after 2 failed attempts. In return is a cake with great taste. It’s great to eat cake while playing games, I tried with getaway shootout
This cake recipe is awesome and so easy to learn. I tried this 3 times and finally succeeded. Really delicious! the backrooms
This cake is the best! So fluffy and spicy. It’s so easy to do when you use a box cake. Thank you. vampire survivors
This is the best cake! So light and cinnamony. Using a box cake makes it so easy. My boyfriend is a diabetic. I used a Pillsbury sugar free yellow cake mix and Swerve brown sugar substitute and it tastes sweet and delicious.
Made this last night to serve for Sunday brunch, it turned out great! It’s the perfect recipe for coffee cake when I’m short on time.
I accidentally used ricotta instead of sour cream! It cooked much faster, about 32 minutes but it turned out great!
This looks really good, I’m going to try this and other recipes asap.
This looks really good, I’m going to try it asap ^^.
Can you give more information on apx. size of cake mix? Around 15 oz? 18? Meant to be baked up to 13×9 or 9×9? Any info would be helpful. Maybe it doesn’t really matter? This looks wonderful. Thank you. Your family is in my heart. Wishing you all the best.
Can you use other flavor of cake mixes?
This looks delicious! We all love coffee cake, especially my grandchildren. Can’t wait to try it. Your recipes are always great.
Hi Michelle,
This is Linda Miller again. I meant to say I had a 9×13 glass oblong, 9×12 glass oblong, 8×8 glass square & 9″ round pan with removable sides (like for a cheese cake). Would any of these work for the coffee cake recipe? Would I do a single or double recipe for any of these?
Thanks, Linda Miller
Hi Michelle,
I love to bake any variation of coffee cakes. Would like to try this one, however, I do not have a 9inch square pan. I have 9×13, 9×12, 8×8 and 9inch round with removable sides (for cheese cake. Would any of these work, so I wouldn’t have to purchase another pan? By the way I am an 82 year old grandmother and all 5 grandkids are grown & in college, so I just love to read about your beautiful family, They are so adorable. Love your recipes. Look forward to hearing from you.
Best, Linda Miller
This is a fantastic cake! Highly recommend to try this one, so easy and delicious!
Thank you so much for all your recipes and tips. I love your family stories too!!🥰🤗😘
I’ve been making this recipe for years but make it in 2 loaf pans and slice it. Freezes so nicely in a gallon ziplock bag on parchment pape.
I am going to make it this way for a little gathering this weekend, this is so pretty
thank you again for sharing these great ideas.
btw, this freezes well
Great idea in a loaf pan. I may need to borrow your idea using this recipe.
how long do you bake it for in loaf pans??
For those of us with nut allergies, could they be substituted with raisins? Do I use the same amount? Thanks.
Hi Lynne, I think raisins would be fine! If you LOVE raisins, use the same amount, or reduce maybe by 25%. The nuts can also be omitted and not replaced. Enjoy!
I love this! I loooove baking from scratch but there are definitely times I need something FAST and don’t have the luxury of spending hours in the kitchen. Can’t wait to try it!
So agree😊
Can this recipe be doubled for a 13×9 baking pan? Looks amazingly delicious 😋. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Luann, I have doubled this in a 9×13 pan and these are my thoughts… you CAN do it. It takes awhile longer to finish baking, and I didn’t think the texture was as good. I would recommend just baking two square pans at the same time. I’ll add this as a note above. Enjoy!!
I can’t wait to make this!!!
Love, love the semi-homemade recipe. This looks amazing.